Identify content to purge
  • 09 Jan 2023
  • 1 minute to read

Identify content to purge


Article Summary

When handling and purging user data and content, you may need to retain data for a certain amount of time before deleting it, in order to comply with specific laws or company policies. For example, if an employee leaves the organisation then you may need to retain their data for a certain period before removing it. The method below outlines how to identify user data that is ready to be purged.

  1. Suspend the user when they leave your organisation.
  2. Create a dynamic audience, with the rules set to:
    • User is suspended: Yes
    • Last login date: Before the previous X days

Now anyone who is ready to be purged would be added to the dynamic audience. For example, if you wanted to purge users who left your organisation five years ago, then you could do that by having a dynamic audience with the following settings:

  • User is suspended set to Yes 
  • Last login date set to Before the previous 1825 days

This would identify users who have left (as they are suspended) and who have not accessed the site in five years (indicating that is when they left).

Once you've created the audience using the method above, you could then use the audience to purge audience members on a weekly or monthly basis. Follow these steps to purge the audience members:

  1. Go to Quick-access menu > Users > User data management > Purge types.
  2. Click Add purge type.
  3. Set User status restriction to Deleted, then click Continue.
  4. Give the purge type a Full name and ID number, then set Available use to Automatic purging once user is deleted.
  5. In the Data to be purged section, configure the options depending on which data you want to purge/keep.
  6. Click Add.
  7. Go to Quick-access menu > Audiences.
  8. Give the audience you previously created (see above) an Audience ID, e.g. 'Ready to be purged'.
  9. Go to Quick-access menu > Users > Bulk user actions.
  10. Expand the filters by clicking Show more.
  11. Set the Audience ID filter to is equal to 'Ready to be purged' (or the Audience ID you gave the audience).
  12. Under Users in list, click Add all.
  13. Set With selected users... to Delete, then click Go.
  14. Wait for automatic purging of the newly deleted users.

A Site Administrator would need to regularly complete this step in order to bulk delete any users who are added to the audience. Then, provided that the cron is running, the deleted users should be automatically purged when the task next runs.

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